Guys, I know this has been beated to death... but for me, this is the first time I read directly from Microsoft on the subjectTarget Frame RateIn a movie theater, the film generally runs past the projector's lens at a rate of 24 frames per second. At this speed, the human eye cannot detect the fact that the film is actually a series of rapidly changing still pictures. Like a movie, animated graphics are rendered on a computer screen one frame at a time. This happens at a high frame rate so it seems like a constant picture.For some computers, it may be advantageous to limit the target frame rate. By limiting the upper end of the frame rate, the computer doesn't spend any more resources than it requires to render the selected frame rate. Resources not used to increase the frame rate beyond that setting can be used for other tasks like rendering clouds or drawing scenery in the distance. Experiment to find the frame rate that works best for you.More can be found Here:http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimul...ay_settings.asp

>Guys, I know this has been beated to death... but for me,>this is the first time I read directly from Microsoft on the>subject>>Target Frame Rate>>In a movie theater, the film generally runs past the>projector's lens at a rate of 24 frames per second. At this>speed, the human eye cannot detect the fact that the film is>actually a series of rapidly changing still pictures. Like a>movie, animated graphics are rendered on a computer screen one>frame at a time. This happens at a high frame rate so it seems>like a constant picture.But unlike a movie, the individual images displayed by your computer don't include motion blurring which helps contribute to the smooth appearance of motion in films. But you're correct, this has been done to death. FS9 is fine at 24fps. It would be finer at 60fps. :)

Yes the quest for frame rates! Well with my system (see below) I've had some great frame rates. In the air I've seen 220fps (about my highest, with an average around 90

>>Guys, I know this has been beated to death... but for me,>But unlike a movie, the individual images displayed by>your computer don't include motion blurring which helps>contribute to the smooth appearance of motion in films. But>you're correct, this has been done to death. FS9 is fine at>24fps. It would be finer at 60fps. :)>You're right. And it's worth noting that MS never explicitly says 24fps is fine for FS, they just say it's fine for movies... ;)

I'm more and more convinced that for FS9, smoothness is more important than FPS. I've watched the framerate variability numbers go real high (20 to 30%) in heavy graphic areas with the accompanying stutter--all at 24 FPS! When I lowered the Locked framerate to 20 or 22, I get a lower framerate but a big improvement in framerate variability (1-3%) which translates to much smoother and enjoyable flying. The number to lock the framerate will certainly depend on the system, but variability is as important as overall framerate. And, boy! has this been talked about before!!Randall

Yes, but try a complex aircraft, clouds maxed, scenery dense, all sliders to the right, and AI set to 100% (with Ultimate Traffic) AND fly in to KORD (the FPS black hole). What is your FPS now? From what I understand, there isn't hardware available (PC 1500-3000 range) that will run FS with everything maxed.You still have a nice rig though! :)Barry

I have spent FAR too much time experimenting with this. No matter what people say, 60 fps on a PC or Console game results in smoother motion. Keep in mind a computer and TV draw pixels vertically AND horizontally, where as a movie just goes vertically.That asside, 25 fps is decent enough for most flying in FS. The framerate lock does indeed help the system draw in more detail instead of pumping out framerates, and results in better visuals, as well as less variation in the framerates.So in the end I find the best thing to do is take your average framerates, subtract 5-10 fps (5 if below 30 and 10 if above) and lock it there. Oh and please, take this advice. STOP PLAYING AROUND WITH THE SETTINGS. I've lost far too much time and caused myself far too much frustration trying to make my system do what it can't. If you keep messin around you just keep wanting a faster system, rather then just enjoying what you have. It's funny because the framerates / performance bothered me less when I ran a P3 800mhz with 512mb ram and an ATI 64mb card than I now with my AMD 2600, Radeon 9800 and 768mb of ram lol.

FPS relates directly to smoothness. If your FPS falls below 10, I can gaurantee your smoothness is effected!Barry